Losing Weight….Finding Myself

My name is Sheila and I am 45 years old. In 2011, I couldn’t bend over to tie my shoes without gettng out of breath. I could barely walk from my car to my office without becoming winded. My blood pressure was climbing, my body was hurting and I was alone. I was alone because I was slowly shutting myself off from the people who cared about me.
Depression had set in and I was ashamed. I couldn’t seem to dig myself out. That was the most devastating part of being overweight, at least it was for me.

At 5’10 and 268 pounds, I was miserable. My “aha” moment came when I was in a dressing room all alone and took that good long look in the mirror. I saw not only what the weight was doing to the outside of my body, but I knew that it was doing even more damage to the inside. I’m thinking, “Oh my God, what am I doing? I not only have myself to think of, but a teenage son to be healthy for; isn’t that enough? Isn’t it reason enough to fix this?” So I did…one step at a time.

I started with a healthy, well-balanced low glycemic diet, and the weight began coming off. Then I picked up my phone and downloaded a “Couch to 5K” app. I could only run seconds at a time, and everything hurt when I did., but the weight kept coming off and the running got easier.

As of this writing, I have lost 123 pounds. I reached my goal in November of 2013. I am now a healthy 45-year old. I NEVER considered myself a runner but having run several races over the past two years, I’m now training for the Rock N Roll 1/2 Marathon in Dallas next month. Running is the place where I clear my head and become grounded again. It’s the one place where all I have to do is remember to breathe and everything else falls into place.

The most rewarding part of this journey so far is that I’m sharing it with my son, who graduates from high school this year. He reached out to me recently and asked for my help in designing a healthy eating program so that he can lose weight weight and be healthier. It’s truly the best reward.

I have learned a lot throughout this 2+ year journey and the 25 years of struggling with my weight. It took me a long time to learn about balance. It took me a long time to love myself and uncover my real passions.

Funny story…I had an outpatient procedure recently and while in recovery, the heart monitor kept beeping. The nurse came over and said, “your pulse is very slow, do you work out?” I told her about my running & and asked her “why”? She said, “Because you have the heart of an athlete!” 123 pounds ago, I couldv’e never imagined that someone would say that to ME!

I hope in some small way that this story reaches someone who is inspired. We are only limited by the limits we set for ourselves.

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